Knee pad for sewing machines



Aug. 16, 1938. B. DUCHAN.

KNEE PAD FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Sept. 11,1936

BENNlE y I\VE\ TOR. I

Duane N Patented Aug. 1 6, l 938 2 1 UNITED STATES enraar orgies KNEE PAD FOR SEWING MACHINES Bennie Duchan, New York, N. Y.

Application September 11, 1936, Serial No. 109,234.-

2 Claims. (01. 74-515) This application is a re-file in part of my Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. but illustrating abandoned application Serial No. 426,791, filed a modified construction.

February 8th, 1930 for a sewing machine and. Fig. 7 is another view similar to Fig. 5 but knee pad invention. illustrating a still further modified construction.

5 The invention has for an object the construc- In Fig. 1 a sewing machine It! has been illustion of a knee lifter rubber pad for sewing matrated provided with a knee lifter H for lifting chines which is made especially for preventing the pressure fOOt W The machine is shOWn D soreness and pain caused by working the knee vided with a conventional table topl3 supported lifter of a sewing machine a great many times a y s A ac e head i5 is arranged up 10 day for extended periods. said top and is connected for operation with an More specifically, the invention proposesaknee ec c m or it? ea said table 10- A lifter rubber pad which is characterized by a mass Ot ont o P da i7 is shown s pp ee f sponge rubber material adapted to engage over the bottom ends of the legs l4 and is connected the customary plate upon the knee lifter lever of for Ope a Clutch i3 i0 transmit rotations a sewing machine, and which is associated with om the motor to the machine head.

a relatively harder rubber flange adapted to en- A pair of u s iii are wn t d the gage edge portions of said plate to maintain the bottom of a d table p i3 and iotatively padinposition. From experiments Ihave learned support a rod A radial is fiXed On that if the surrounding rubb flange was @011- this rod and connects with a connecting rod 22 l structed from the soft sponge rubber material passing through the table t p l3 a d C n t necessary in the mass of the pad, it would be for raising the pressure foot 12 p n a slight relatively loose on the upporting plate and have turn Of the rod 29. The connection between the atendency of being easily displaced with the knee. rod 22 and the pressure foot is not wn on A further object of t invention is t the drawing or described in this specification as 51 struct the knee lifter rubber pad of two distinct it is Old and generally known and forms 110 part sections; 0ne the front mass portion, and two of the invention. The knee lever H is fixed on the rear supporting flange, and to vulcanize these h i 20 and normally p ds n a vertical t di ti t parts together in an integral unit; dlrectlon. When it is desired to lift the pressure stm further t invention proposes an arrangefoot it is necessary that the knee lifter rod H t for reinforcing t flan pol-hon 0f the be moved laterally in an are about the rod 20 pad so that it is capable of more firmly holding as a centerth pad in position The pad for the knee lifter, according to this th object of the invention is the construc. invention, consists of a resilient mass of sponge ti of device as mentioned which is simple rubber material 23 capable of covering the knee 3.1 and durable and which may be manufactured and engaging from face 24 0f the knee level p a e 9 ld t reasohame cash and provided with a flange portion 23a upon its For further comprehension of the invention, Teal" side apted to engage said plate 29 which and of the objects and advantages thereof, refis adjustably ted on the knee lever II.

erence will be had to the following description This flange p t on a is formed from rubber and accompanying drawing, and to the appended material which is relatively stiff and strong as claims in which the various novel features of the contrasted With the D material It is sein ti are more particularly t f th, cured in position by vulcanization or other known In the accompanying drawing forming a mamethods. The flange 23a produces a central terial part of this disclosure: opening 25 through which the plate 29 may be en- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sewing magagfid iIltO position beneath the flange portion chine with a knee lifter pad mounted on the knee The rear face it Of the knee lifter plate 9 lifter thereof engages against the inner face of the flange por- Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse tion sectional View taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1. The plate 29 is formed with a rear boss 36 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged elevational formed With an Opening through Which the knee view looking from the left hand side of Fig. 2. lifter leVeI H passes A set SCPGW e gages Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the knee lifter rou th boss a d-against the lever H for bb pad per se. adjustably holding the plate 29 thereon. The

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 outer face 231) of the resilient pad 23 is formed of Fig. curved convexly in a vertical plane. The side portion 236 of the resilient member 23 tapers from the front to the rear so that the resilient mass is of substantially frusto-conical form.

In operation the flange portion 23a is forced over the plate 29 and maintains the resilient pad in position. The operator may keep his foot stationary on the floor or on the foot pedal of the sewing machine and bend the leg at "the ankle to describe an are at the knee to engage the face 23b .of the pad and so move the knee lifter. The knee of the operator will not become sore no matter how many times the knee lifter is engaged because the resilient mass 23 is of very soft sponge rubber material.

In Fig. 6 a slightly modified form of the invention has been disclosed which distinguishes from the prior form in an arrangement which assists in more securely holding the pad on the retaining plate 29. According to this form of the invention the flange portion 23a is formed with a very thin lip portion 2311a extending inwards from the inner edge of the flange and adapted to rest against the outer face 26 of the plate. This lip portion is comparatively flexible when compared with the flexible portion 23a because of its thinness, but materially assists in firmly holding the knee lifter pad on the plate 29 because it extends inwards and reaches pretty far towards the center of the supporting plate 29. The lip 23cm will not interfere with the removal of the rubber pad from the plate since it readily bends.

In Fig. 7 another modified form of the inven tion has been disclosed in which another provision is shown for reinforcing the flange 23a to insure proper mounting of the knee lifter pad on the plate 29. In this form of the invention the inner edge of the flange 23a is formed with a thickened bead portion 23. This thickened bead portion is capable of drawing together the inner edge of the flange 23a with sufficient force so as to firmly hold the bead on the plate. Furthermore, the bead 23' because of its relative thickness will endure the deteriorating effects of the atmosphere to a much better extent than the flange portion 23a.

The bead portion 23 is of a thickness as to be capable of being wedged in between the rear face 26 of the plate 29 and the lever H. This serves to securely hold the pad in place.

While I have illustrated and described my invention with some degree of particularity, I realize that in practice various alterations therein may be made. I therefore reserve the right and privilege of changing the form of the details of construction or otherwise altering the arrangement of the correlated parts without departing from the spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:-

1. In a pad for the knee lifter of a sewing machine of the class described, a resilient mass of soft material adapted to cover the knee engaging front face of the knee lifter, and a resilient annular flange mounted on the rear face of said resilient material along its outer edges and adapted to engage upon a plate associated with said knee lifter for supporting the pad in position, and a thickened edge portion on the inner edge of said flange to hold said inner edge from expanding and slipping off said knee lifter.

2. In combination with the knee lifter pad of a sewing machine, a lever for operating the lifter, and a plate with a knee engaging front face and having a projecting boss mounted on said lever, a resilient mass of material covering the knee engaging front face of said plate, a flange mounted along its outer edges upon the rear of said pad and engaging over the edges of said plate, and a bead formed on the inner edge of said flange and having a portion wedged in between said plate and said lever portion for assisting in holding said flange from expanding and slipping off said plate.

BENNIE DUCHAN. 

